Systems and methods for processing alloy ingots

ABSTRACT

Processes and methods related to processing and hot working alloy ingots are disclosed. A metallic material layer is deposited onto at least a region of a surface of an alloy ingot before hot working the alloy ingot. The processes and methods are characterized by a reduction in the incidence of surface cracking of the alloy ingot during hot working.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for processingalloy ingots. The present disclosure is also directed to processes forhot working alloy ingots.

BACKGROUND

Metal alloy products may be prepared, for example, using ingotmetallurgy operations or powder metallurgy operations. Ingot metallurgyoperations may involve the melting of an alloy feedstock and the castingof the molten material into an ingot. A non-limiting example of an ingotmetallurgy operation is a “triple melt” technique, which includes threemelting operations: (1) vacuum induction melting (VIM) to prepare adesired alloy composition from a feedstock; (2) electroslag refining(ESR), which may reduce levels of, for example, oxygen-containinginclusions; and (3) vacuum arc remelting (VAR), which may reducecompositional segregation that may occur during solidification afterESR. An ingot may be formed during solidification after a VAR operation.

Powder metallurgy operations may involve atomization of molten alloy andthe collection and consolidation of solidified metallurgical powdersinto an ingot. A non-limiting example of a powder metallurgy operationincludes the steps of: (1) VIM to prepare a desired alloy compositionfrom a feedstock; (2) atomization of molten alloy into molten alloydroplets that solidify into alloy powder; (3) optionally, sieving toreduce inclusions; (4) canning and degassing; and (5) pressing toconsolidate the alloy powder into an alloy ingot.

The alloy ingots formed from ingot metallurgy operations and powdermetallurgy operations may be hot worked to produce other alloy products.For example, after solidification or consolidation to form an alloyingot, the ingot may undergo forging and/or extrusion to form a billetor other alloy article from the ingot.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to an ingot processing method.An ingot processing method may comprise depositing a metallic materiallayer onto at least a region of a surface of an alloy ingot. The ingotprocessing method may be characterized in that the metallic materiallayer reduces an incidence of surface cracking of the alloy ingot duringhot working.

Other embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a hot workingprocess. The hot working process may comprise applying force to an alloyingot to deform the alloy ingot. The alloy ingot may include a metallicmaterial layer deposited onto at least a region of a surface of thealloy ingot. The hot working process may be characterized in that theforce is applied onto the metallic material layer.

Other embodiments disclosed herein are directed to ingot processingsystems. An ingot processing system may comprise an ingot positioningapparatus. The ingot positioning apparatus may be configured to rotatean ingot about a long axis of the ingot. The ingot processing system mayalso comprise a welding apparatus. The welding apparatus may beconfigured to deposit a metallic material layer as a weld deposit ontoat least a region of a surface of an ingot.

It is understood that the invention disclosed and described herein isnot limited to the embodiments disclosed in this Summary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various characteristics of the non-limiting embodiments disclosed anddescribed herein may be better understood by reference to theaccompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1A is a side view of an ingot having a metallic material layerdeposited onto the end surfaces of the ingot, and FIG. 1B is aperspective view of the ingot shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ingot having a metallic materiallayer deposited onto a circumferential surface of the ingot;

FIG. 3A is a side view of an ingot having a metallic material layerdeposited onto the end surfaces and a circumferential surface of theingot, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the ingot shown in FIG. 3A;

FIGS. 4A-4D are perspective views illustrating one method of depositingmetallic material as weld deposits onto a circumferential surface of aningot;

FIGS. 5A-5D are perspective views illustrating another method ofdepositing metallic material as weld deposits onto a circumferentialsurface of an ingot;

FIG. 6A is a perspective view illustrating another embodiment of amethod of depositing metallic material as a weld deposit onto acircumferential surface of an ingot, and FIG. 6B is a perspective viewof the ingot shown in FIG. 6A and having a metallic material layerdeposited as a weld deposit over the entire circumferential surface ofthe ingot;

FIG. 7A is a side cross-sectional view of an ingot in an upset forgingoperation, FIG. 7B is an expanded partial side cross-sectional view ofthe ingot shown in FIG. 7A after upset forging, FIG. 7C is a sidecross-sectional view of an ingot in an upset forging operation andhaving a metallic material layer deposited onto the end surfaces of theingot, and FIG. 7D is an expanded partial side cross-sectional view ofthe ingot shown in FIG. 7C after upset forging;

FIG. 8A is a side cross-sectional view of an ingot in a draw forgingoperation, FIG. 8B is an expanded partial side cross-sectional view ofthe ingot shown in FIG. 8A after draw forging, FIG. 8C is a sidecross-sectional view of an ingot in a draw forging operation and havinga metallic material layer deposited onto the circumferential surface ofthe ingot, and FIG. 8D is an expanded partial side cross-sectional viewof the ingot shown in FIG. 8C after draw forging;

FIG. 9 is a photograph of two 3-inch alloy cubes, each having a metallicmaterial layer deposited by a welding operation on the top surface ofthe cube (as oriented in the photograph);

FIGS. 10A and 10B are photographs of the two die-contacting surfaces ofa 1-inch pancake that was press forged from a 3-inch alloy cube having ametallic material layer deposited by a welding operation onto onedie-contacting surface of the alloy cube; and

FIG. 11 is a photograph of a sectioned 1-inch pancake that was pressforged from a 3-inch alloy cube having a metallic material layerdeposited by a welding operation onto one die-contacting surface of thealloy cube (the top surface as oriented in the photograph), and FIG. 11Ais a micrograph taken along the cross-section of the welded surface asindicated in FIG. 11.

The reader will appreciate the foregoing details, as well as others,upon considering the following detailed description of variousnon-limiting embodiments according to the present disclosure. The readmay also comprehend additional details upon implementing or usingembodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF NON-LIMITING EMBODIMENTS

It is to be understood that various descriptions of the disclosedembodiments have been simplified to illustrate only those features,aspects, characteristics, and the like that are relevant to a clearunderstanding of the disclosed embodiments, while eliminating, forpurposes of clarity, other features, aspects, characteristics, and thelike. Persons having ordinary skill in the art, upon considering thepresent description of the disclosed embodiments, will recognize thatother features, aspects, characteristics, and the like may be desirablein a particular implementation or application of the disclosedembodiments. However, because such other features, aspects,characteristics, and the like may be readily ascertained and implementedby persons having ordinary skill in the art upon considering the presentdescription of the disclosed embodiments, and are, therefore, notnecessary for a complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments, adescription of such features, aspects, characteristics, and the like isnot provided herein. As such, it is to be understood that thedescription set forth herein is merely exemplary and illustrative of thedisclosed embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention as defined solely by the claims.

In the present disclosure, other than where otherwise indicated, allnumbers expressing quantities or characteristics are to be understood asbeing prefaced and modified in all instances by the term “about.”Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, any numerical parametersset forth in the following description may vary depending on the desiredproperties one seeks to obtain in the embodiments according to thepresent disclosure. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limitthe application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of theclaims, each numerical parameter described in the present descriptionshould at least be construed in light of the number of reportedsignificant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

Also, any numerical range recited herein is intended to include allsub-ranges subsumed therein. For example, a range of “1 to 10” isintended to include all sub-ranges between (and including) the recitedminimum value of 1 and the recited maximum value of 10, that is, havinga minimum value equal to or greater than 1 and a maximum value of equalto or less than 10. Any maximum numerical limitation recited herein isintended to include all lower numerical limitations subsumed therein andany minimum numerical limitation recited herein is intended to includeall higher numerical limitations subsumed therein. Accordingly,Applicants reserve the right to amend the present disclosure, includingthe claims, to expressly recite any sub-range subsumed within the rangesexpressly recited herein. All such ranges are intended to be inherentlydisclosed herein such that amending to expressly recite any suchsub-ranges would comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. §112, firstparagraph, and 35 U.S.C. §132(a).

The grammatical articles “one”, “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used herein,are intended to include “at least one” or “one or more”, unlessotherwise indicated. Thus, the articles are used herein to refer to oneor more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical objects ofthe article. By way of example, “a component” means one or morecomponents, and thus, possibly, more than one component is contemplatedand may be employed or used in an implementation of the describedembodiments.

Any patent, publication, or other disclosure material that is said to beincorporated by reference herein, is incorporated herein in its entiretyunless otherwise indicated, but only to the extent that the incorporatedmaterial does not conflict with existing definitions, statements, orother disclosure material expressly set forth in this disclosure. Assuch, and to the extent necessary, the express disclosure as set forthherein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated by referenceherein. Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to beincorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts with existingdefinitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth hereinis only incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between thatincorporated material and the existing disclosure material. Applicantsreverse the right to amend the present disclosure to expressly reciteany subject matter, or portion thereof, incorporated by referenceherein.

The present disclosure includes descriptions of various embodiments. Itis to be understood that all embodiments described herein are exemplary,illustrative, and non-limiting. Thus, the invention is not limited bythe description of the various exemplary, illustrative, and non-limitingembodiments. Rather, the invention is defined solely by the claims,which may be amended to recite any features expressly or inherentlydescribed in or otherwise expressly or inherently supported by thepresent disclosure. Therefore, any such amendments would comply with therequirements of 35 U.S.C. §112, first paragraph, and 35 U.S.C. §132(a).

The various embodiments disclosed and described herein can comprise,consist of, or consist essentially of, the features, aspects,characteristics, and the like, as variously described herein. Thevarious embodiments disclosed and described herein can also compriseadditional or optional features, aspects, characteristics, and the like,that are known in the art or that may otherwise be included in variousembodiments as implemented in practice.

Various alloys may be characterized as crack sensitive. Crack sensitivealloys tend to form cracks during working operations. Crack sensitivealloy ingots, for example, may form cracks during hot working operationsused to produce alloy articles from the crack sensitive alloy ingots.For example, alloy billets may be formed from alloy ingots using forgeconversion. Other alloy articles may be formed from alloy billets oralloy ingots using extrusion or other working operations. The productionyield of alloy articles (e.g., alloy billets) formed from cracksensitive alloy ingots using hot working operations may be low becauseof the incidence of surface cracking of the alloy ingots during the hotworking (e.g., during forging or extrusion).

As used herein, the term “hot working” refers to the application offorce to a workpiece at a temperature greater than ambient temperature,wherein the applied force deforms the workpiece.

During hot working operations, such as, for example, forging orextrusion, the temperature of an alloy ingot undergoing the workingoperation may be greater than the temperature of the dies used tomechanically apply force to the surfaces of the ingot. The resultingthermal gradient off-set between the ingot surfaces and the contactingdies may contribute to surface cracking of the ingot during hot working,particularly for ingots formed from crack sensitive alloys, such as, forexample, nickel base, iron base, nickel-iron base, and cobalt basealloys and superalloys.

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to ingot processing methodsand hot working processes characterized by a reduction in the incidenceof surface cracking of an alloy ingot during a hot working operation. Invarious embodiments, the described methods and/or processes may comprisedepositing a metallic material layer onto at least a region of a surfaceof an alloy ingot. The alloy ingot may be hot worked by applying a forceto the alloy ingot at the region of the surface having the depositedmetallic material layer. The applied force may deform the alloy ingot.

In various embodiments, the alloy ingot may comprise a crack sensitivealloy. For example, various nickel base, iron base, nickel-iron base,and cobalt base alloys and superalloys may be crack sensitive,especially during hot working operations. An alloy ingot may be formedfrom such crack sensitive alloys and superalloys. A crack sensitivealloy ingot may be formed from alloys or superalloys including, but notlimited to, Alloy 718, Alloy 720, Rene 41™ alloy, Rene 88™ alloy,Waspaloy® alloy, and Inconel® 100. The methods, processes, and systemsdescribed herein are generally applicable to any alloy characterized bya relatively low ductility at hot working temperatures. As used hereinthe term “alloy” includes conventional alloys and superalloys, whereinsuperalloys exhibit relatively good surface stability, corrosion andoxidation resistance, high strength, and high creep resistance at hightemperatures.

An alloy ingot may be formed using an ingot metallurgy operation or apowder metallurgy operation. For example, in various embodiments, analloy ingot may be formed by VIM followed by VAR (a VIM-VAR operation).In various embodiments, an alloy ingot may be formed by triple meltingin which an ESR operation is performed intermediate a VIM operation anda VAR operation (a VIM-ESR-VAR operation). In other embodiments, analloy ingot may be formed using a powder metallurgy operation involvingatomization of molten alloy and the collection and consolidation ofresulting metallurgical powders into an ingot.

In various embodiments, an alloy ingot may be formed using a sprayforming operation. For example, VIM may be used to prepare a base alloycomposition from a feedstock. An ESR operation may optionally be usedafter VIM. Molten alloy may be extracted from a VIM or ESR melt pool andatomized to form molten droplets. The molten alloy may be extracted froma melt pool using a cold wall induction guide (CIG), for example. Themolten alloy droplets may be deposited using a spray forming operationto form a solidified ingot.

After initial ingot formation, but before deposition of a metallicmaterial layer onto an ingot and subsequent hot working of the ingot, analloy ingot may be heat treated and/or surface conditioned. For example,in various embodiments, an alloy ingot may be exposed to hightemperatures to homogenize the alloy composition and microstructure ofthe ingot. The high temperatures may be above the recrystallizationtemperature of the alloy but below the melting point temperature of thealloy.

An alloy ingot may be surface conditioned, for example, by grinding orpeeling the surface of the ingot. An alloy ingot may also be sandedand/or buffed. Surface conditioning operations may be performed beforeand/or after any optional heat treatment steps, such as, for example,homogenization at high temperatures.

In various embodiments, a metallic material layer may be deposited andmetallurgically bonded to at least a region of a surface of an alloyingot. For example, a metallic material layer may be deposited as a welddeposit onto a surface of an ingot. A weld deposit may bemetallurgically bonded to at least a region of a surface of an alloyingot using welding operations including, but not limited to, metalinert gas (MIG) welding, tungsten insert gas (TIG) welding, plasmawelding, submerged arc welding, and electron-beam welding.

The metallic material layer may comprise a metallic material that ismore ductile and/or malleable than the alloy of the underlying ingot atthe particular working temperature to be used. The metallic materiallayer may comprise a metallic material that exhibits greater toughnessand/or lesser hardness than the alloy of the underlying ingot at theparticular working temperature to be used. In various embodiments, themetallic material layer insulates the underlying ingot surface from thesurfaces of contacting dies, thereby preventing the underlying ingotsurface from cooling to a brittle temperature at which the surface maymore readily crack during hot working.

The metallic material layer may comprise a metallic material that isoxidation resistant. In various embodiments, the metallic material layerdoes not oxidize during hot working or otherwise. The metallic materiallayer may comprise a metallic material exhibiting a relatively highstiffness (e.g., a relatively low elastic modulus). In variousembodiments, the metallic material layer does not thin out substantiallyduring hot working (e.g., where the application of force by one or moredies would cause a relatively low stiffness metallic material to thinout on the underlying ingot surface).

In various embodiments, the metallic material and the alloy forming theunderlying ingot may comprise the same base metal. For example, if thealloy ingot comprises a nickel base alloy or superalloy (e.g., Alloy720, Rene 88™ alloy, or Waspaloy® alloy), then the metallic material ofthe deposited layer may also comprise a nickel base alloy, such as, forexample, a nickel base weld alloy (e.g., Techalloy 606™ alloy (availablefrom Techalloy Company/Central Wire)).

The metallic material layer may be deposited to a thickness sufficientto insulate the underlying ingot surface from the surfaces of contactingdies, thereby preventing the underlying ingot surface from cooling to atemperature at which the underlying surface may more readily crackduring hot working. In this manner, greater hot working temperatures maygenerally correlate with greater metallic material layer thicknesses. Invarious embodiments, the metallic material layer may be deposited to athickness of 0.25 inches to 0.5 inches onto at least a region of asurface of an alloy ingot.

The temperature range over which alloys can be effectively hot worked isbased on the temperature at which cracks initiate in the alloy. At agiven starting temperature for a hot working operation, some alloys canbe effectively hot worked over a larger temperature range than otheralloys because of differences in the temperature at which cracksinitiate in the alloy. For alloys having a relatively small hot workingtemperature range (i.e., the difference between the starting temperatureand the temperature at which cracks initiate), the thickness of themetallic material layer may need to be relatively greater to prevent theunderlying ingot from cooling down to a brittle temperature range inwhich cracks initiate. Likewise, for alloys having a relatively largehot working temperature range, the thickness of the metallic materiallayer may be relatively smaller to and still prevent the underlyingingot from cooling down to a brittle temperature range in which cracksinitiate.

In various embodiments, the metallic material layer may be depositedonto at least one end of an alloy ingot. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate anelongated alloy ingot 10 having opposed ends 13 a and 13 b. Metallicmaterial layers 15 a and 15 b are deposited onto the ends 13 a and 13 bof the alloy ingot 10. Although FIGS. 1A and 1B show metallic materiallayers on both ends 13 a and 13 b of the ingot 10, in variousembodiments a metallic material layer may be deposited onto only one endof an elongated alloy ingot and the other, opposed end may not have adeposited metallic material layer. Although FIGS. 1A and 1B showmetallic material layers fully covering the ends of the ingot 10, invarious embodiments a metallic material layer may be deposited onto onlya portion or region of one or both of the opposed end surfaces of anelongated alloy ingot. In various embodiments, the metallic material maybe more ductile than the alloy of the ingot.

The metallic material layer may be deposited onto at least a region of acircumferential surface of a cylindrical alloy ingot. FIG. 2 illustratesan alloy ingot 20 having opposed ends 23 a and 23 b and acircumferential surface 27 (indicated by dashed lines). A metallicmaterial layer 25 is deposited onto the circumferential surface 27 ofthe alloy ingot 20. Although FIG. 2 shows the metallic material layerfully covering the circumferential surface 27, in various embodiments ametallic material layer may be deposited onto only a portion or regionof a circumferential surface of a cylindrical alloy ingot.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an alloy ingot 30 having opposed ends 33 aand 33 b and a circumferential surface 37 (indicated by dashed lines).Metallic material layer 35 is deposited onto the circumferential surface37 and the ends 33 a and 33 b of the alloy ingot 30. In this manner, thealloy ingot 30 is entirely covered with a deposited metallic materiallayer 35. The surfaces of the underlying ingot are shown as dashed linesin FIGS. 3A and 3B. Although FIGS. 3A and 3B show metallic materiallayers fully covering the ends and the circumferential surface of theingot 30, in various embodiments, a metallic material layer also may bedeposited onto only portions or regions of one or both of the opposedend surfaces and/or the circumferential surface of an elongatedcylindrical alloy ingot.

In various embodiments, a metallic material layer may be deposited as aweld deposit onto at least a region of a surface of an alloy ingot byrotating the ingot about a long axis of the ingot and depositing themetallic material as a weld deposit onto a first region of acircumferential surface of the rotating ingot. The metallic materiallayer may be deposited using at least one stationary welding torch. Thewelding torch may deposit the metallic material onto the surface of theingot as the ingot rotates and the surface passes beneath the torch. Inthis manner, a ring-shaped layer of metallic material may be depositedonto a first region of the circumferential surface of the cylindricalingot as the ingot proceeds through at least one rotation.

After a rotating ingot proceeds through at least one rotation, and aring-shaped layer of metallic material is deposited onto a region of thecircumferential surface of the ingot, at least one welding torch may bere-positioned to a location adjacent to the deposited ring-shaped layerof the metallic material. The re-positioning may be performed by movingat least one welding torch relative to the ingot, and/or moving theingot relative to the at least one welding torch. A re-positionedwelding torch may then deposit additional metallic material as a welddeposit onto a second or subsequent region of the circumferentialsurface of the rotating ingot. In this manner, a second or subsequentring-shaped metallic material layer may be formed adjacent to apreviously deposited ring-shaped metallic material layer. In variousembodiments, ring-shaped layers of metallic material may be successivelyformed adjacent to each other and in contact with each other so that themetallic material layers collectively form a continuous layer coveringat least a region of a circumferential surface of a cylindrical ingot.

The re-positioning of at least one welding torch and the depositing of aring-shaped layer of metallic material may be repeated successivelyuntil the circumferential surface of the alloy ingot is substantiallycovered with a continuous metallic material layer. In variousembodiments, welding operation parameters, welding torch positioning,and ingot positioning may be predetermined and/or actively controlled toform a uniform metallic material layer over at least a region of asurface of an alloy ingot.

FIGS. 4A-4D collectively illustrate an embodiment of the deposition ofmetallic material as weld deposits onto at least a region of a surfaceof an alloy ingot. Alloy ingot 100 rotates about long axis 101 asindicated by arrow 102. Welding torches 110 remain stationary anddeposit metallic material 150 onto the circumferential surface 170 ofthe ingot 100 as the ingot 100 rotates about long axis 101. The metallicmaterial 150 may be more ductile and/or malleable than the alloy of thealloy ingot 100 when the ingot is at a temperature at which the ingot100 is worked. The welding torches 110 deposit metallic material 150onto first regions 171 of the circumferential surface 170 of the ingot100 as the circumferential surface 170 passes beneath the weldingtorches 110. The welding torches 110 remain stationary until the ingot100 proceeds through at least one rotation, and ring-shaped layers ofmetallic material 150 are deposited onto the first regions 171 of thecircumferential surface 170 of the ingot 100 (FIG. 4C).

As shown in FIG. 4C, after the ring-shaped layers of metallic material150 are deposited onto the first regions 171 of the circumferentialsurface 170 of the ingot 100 by rotating ingot 100 through at least onerotation, the welding torches 110 are re-positioned by moving thetorches a distance in a direction parallel to the long axis 101 of theingot 100, as indicated by arrows 112 in FIG. 4C. The welding torches110 are re-positioned so that the welding torches 110 are locatedadjacent to the first regions 171 and, therefore, adjacent to thering-shaped layers of metallic material 150 already deposited (FIG. 4D).Although FIG. 4C illustrates re-positioning the welding torches 110 bymoving the welding torches 110 parallel to long axis 101, the positionof the welding torches 110 relative to the ingot 100 also may be changedby moving the ingot 100 parallel to long axis 101.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the re-positioned welding torches 110 depositadditional metallic material 150′ as weld deposits onto second regions172 of the circumferential surface 170 of the ingot 100 as the ingot 100rotates about long axis 101. In this manner, second ring-shaped layersof metallic material 150′ are deposited adjacent to the firstring-shaped layers of metallic material 150. The changing of therelative positions of the welding torches 110 and the ingot 100, and thedepositing of ring-shaped layers of metallic material may besuccessively repeated until the circumferential surface 170 of the alloyingot 100 is substantially covered with metallic material, asillustrated in FIG. 2, for example.

In various embodiments, a metallic material layer may be deposited as aweld deposit onto at least a region of a surface of an ingot by movingat least one welding torch along a first region of a circumferentialsurface of a cylindrical ingot, in the direction of a long axis of theingot. At least one welding torch may be moved along the first region ofthe circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot, in a direction ofthe long axis of the ingot, while the cylindrical ingot is heldstationary. Alternatively, at least one welding torch may be heldstationary while the cylindrical ingot is moved in a direction of thelong axis of the ingot and the first region of the circumferentialsurface of the cylindrical ingot passes beneath the at least one weldingtorch. At least one welding torch may deposit metallic material onto thefirst region of the circumferential surface of the ingot, parallel tothe long axis of the ingot. In this manner, a layer of the metallicmaterial may be deposited onto the circumferential surface of the ingotgenerally parallel to the long axis of the ingot.

After a layer of the metallic material is deposited onto thecircumferential surface of the ingot, parallel to the long axis of theingot, the cylindrical ingot may be re-positioned to move the depositedmetallic material layer (and the corresponding region of thecircumferential surface) away from at least one welding torch and tomove a second or subsequent region of the circumferential surface towardat least one welding torch. After the cylindrical ingot is re-positionedin this way, additional metallic material may be deposited as a welddeposit onto the cylindrical surface of the ingot by moving at least onewelding torch in a direction parallel to the long axis of the ingotalong the second or subsequent region of the circumferential surface ofthe ingot.

At least one welding torch may be moved along the second or subsequentregion of the circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot, in adirection parallel to a long axis of the ingot, while the cylindricalingot is held stationary. Alternatively, at least one welding torch maybe held stationary while the cylindrical ingot is moved parallel to thelong axis of the ingot and the second or subsequent region of thecircumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot passes beneath at leastone welding torch. At least one welding torch may deposit metallicmaterial onto the second or subsequent region of the circumferentialsurface of the ingot. In this manner, an additional axial layer of themetallic material may be deposited onto the circumferential surface ofthe ingot generally parallel to the long axis of the ingot and adjacentto and in contact with a previously deposited layer of the metallicmaterial that also was deposited generally parallel to the long axis ofthe ingot. In various embodiments, both the position of at least onewelding torch and the ingot may be moved so that the position of the atleast one welding torch relative to the circumferential surface of theingot is changed.

The relative re-positioning of the cylindrical ingot and at least onewelding torch and the depositing of layers of metallic material on theingot's circumferential surface in directions parallel to a long axis ofthe ingot may be successively repeated until the circumferential surfaceof the alloy ingot is substantially covered with metallic material. Invarious embodiments, welding operation parameters, welding torchpositioning, and ingot positioning may be predetermined and/or activelycontrolled to form a uniform metallic material layer over at least aregion of a surface of an alloy ingot.

FIGS. 5A-5D collectively illustrate an embodiment of the deposition ofmetallic material as weld deposits onto at least a region of a surfaceof an alloy ingot. Referring to FIG. 5A, alloy ingot 200 is shown havinga long axis 201 and a circumferential surface 270. A layer of metallicmaterial 250 is shown deposited onto region 271 of the circumferentialsurface 250 of the ingot 200, positioned in a direction parallel to longaxis 201. Welding torches 210 deposit additional metallic material asweld deposits 250′ onto the region 272 of circumferential surface 270 asthe welding torches 210 move along region 272 in a direction parallel tolong axis 201, as indicated by arrows 212. The welding torches 210 moveas indicated by arrows 212 until a layer of metallic material 250 isdeposited along generally the entire length of ingot 200 in region 272of the circumferential surface 270 (FIG. 5C).

As shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, after a layer of metallic material 250 isdeposited in region 272, the ingot 200 is re-positioned to move themetallic material layer 250 (and the region 272) away from the weldingtorches 210 and to move a region 273 of the circumferential surface 270toward the welding torches 210. The ingot 200 is re-positioned byrotating the ingot 200 through a predetermined index angle, indicated bythe Greek letter theta (θ) in FIGS. 5A-5D.

As shown in FIG. 5D, after the ingot 200 is re-positioned, another layerof metallic material is deposited as weld deposits 250″ onto the region273 of the cylindrical surface 270 of the ingot 200 by moving thewelding torches 210 along the region 273 of the circumferential surface270 of the cylindrical ingot 200 in a direction parallel to long axis201, as indicated by arrows 212. In this manner, additional layers ofmetallic material 250 are formed adjacent to each other and in contactaround the circumferential surface 270 of the ingot 200. A first layerof metallic material was deposited onto region 271 of thecircumferential surface 270. The alloy ingot 200 was then rotatedthrough a predetermined index angle θ₁. A second layer of metallicmaterial was deposited onto region 272 of the circumferential surface270. The alloy ingot was then rotated through a predetermined indexangle θ₂. A third layer is shown being deposited onto region 273 of thecircumferential surface 270 in FIG. 4D in a direction parallel to longaxis 201. The re-positioning of the ingot 200, movement of the weldingtorches 210, and deposition of layers of metallic material may besuccessively repeated until the circumferential surface 270 of the alloyingot 200 is substantially covered with metallic material, asillustrated in FIG. 2, for example.

FIGS. 5A-5D show welding torches 210 moving along regions (271, 272,273) of the circumferential surface 270 of the ingot 200 in directionparallel to long axis 201, indicated by arrows 212, while the ingot 200is held stationary. Alternatively, the welding torches 210 may be heldstationary and the ingot 200 may be moved in the direction of long axis201 so that regions (271, 272, 273) of the circumferential surface 270of the ingot 200 pass beneath the stationary welding torches 210. Thewelding torches 210 may deposit layers of metallic material 250 onto theregions (271, 272, 273) of the circumferential surface 270 of the ingot200. In this manner, additional layers of the metallic material may bedeposited onto the circumferential surface 270 of the ingot 200generally parallel to the long axis 201 of the ingot 200 and adjacent toeach other until the ingot 200 is substantially covered with metallicmaterial, as illustrated in FIG. 2, for example.

In various embodiments, the metallic material layer may be deposited asa weld deposit onto a surface of an ingot by rotating the ingot about along axis of the ingot and depositing the metallic material as a welddeposit onto a circumferential surface of the rotating ingot. Themetallic material layer may be deposited using at least one movingwelding torch. At least one welding torch may move parallel to the longaxis of the ingot and deposits the metallic material onto the surface ofthe ingot as the ingot rotates. In this manner, a deposit of metallicmaterial may be deposited in a helical fashion onto the circumferentialsurface of the cylindrical ingot as the ingot rotates and at least onewelding torch moves.

FIG. 6A illustrates the deposition of metallic material as a welddeposit onto at least a region of a surface of an alloy ingot. Alloyingot 300 is shown having a long axis 301 and a circumferential surface370. A deposit of metallic material 350 is shown deposited in a helicalfashion onto the circumferential surface 370 of the ingot 300. Weldingtorch 310 deposits the metallic material layer 350 onto thecircumferential surface 370 as the welding torch 310 moves parallel tolong axis 301, as indicated by arrow 312, while the ingot 300simultaneously rotates about long axis 301, as indicated by arrow 302.The welding torch 310 moves as indicated by arrow 312 and the ingot 300rotates as indicated by arrow 302 until a layer of metallic material 350is deposited along generally the entire circumferential surface 370(FIG. 6B).

An alloy ingot including a metallic material layer deposited onto atleast a region of a surface of the alloy ingot may be hot worked byapplying force to the alloy ingot. Force may be applied to an alloyingot in at least one region of at least one surface of the alloy ingothaving a metallic material layer deposited onto at least one region. Inthis manner, force may be applied to an ingot by applying the force tothe metallic material layer deposited onto the ingot. In variousembodiments, a hot working operation may comprise a forging operationand/or an extrusion operation. For example, an alloy ingot having ametallic material layer deposited onto at least a region of a surface ofthe alloy ingot may be upset forged and/or draw forged.

An upset-and-draw forging operation may comprise one or more sequencesof an upset forging operation and one or more sequences of a drawforging operation. During an upset operation, the end surfaces of aningot may be in contact with forging dies that apply force to the ingotthat compresses the length of the ingot and increases the cross-sectionof the ingot. During a draw operation, the side surfaces (e.g., thecircumferential surface of a cylindrical ingot) may be in contact withforging dies that apply force to the ingot that compresses thecross-section of the ingot and increases the length of the ingot.

FIGS. 7A and 7C illustrate an upset forging operation. Forging dies480/480′ apply force to the opposed ends of an ingot 400/400′. The forceis applied generally parallel to the long axis 401/401′ of the ingot400/400′, as indicated by arrows 485/485′. FIG. 7A shows an ingot 400without a deposited metallic material layer on opposed ends of the ingot400. FIG. 7C shows an ingot 400′ including metallic material layers 450deposited onto the opposed ends of the ingot 400′. The ends of the ingot400 are in contact with the forging dies 480 (FIG. 7A). The metallicmaterial layers 450 are in contact with the forging dies 480′ (FIG. 7C).

FIGS. 7B and 7D illustrate a die-contacting surface of each of theingots 400 and 400′ after upset forging as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and7C, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7B, the die-contacting surface 490 ofthe ingot 400 exhibits surface cracking. As shown in FIG. 7D, thedie-contacting surface 490′ of the ingot 400′, which includes metallicmaterial layer 450, does not exhibit surface cracking. The depositedmetallic material layer 450 reduces the incidence of surface cracking ina forged alloy ingot relative to an otherwise identical forged alloyingot lacking such a metallic material layer.

FIGS. 8A and 8C illustrate a draw forging operation. Forging dies580/580′ apply force to an ingot 500/500′. The force is appliedgenerally perpendicular to the long axis 501/501′ of the ingot 500/500′,as indicated by arrows 585/585′. The forging dies 580/580′ apply forceto the ingot 500/500′ along generally the entire length of the ingot500/500′ by moving generally parallel to the long axis 501/501′ of theingot 500/500′, as indicated by arrows 587/587′. FIG. 8A shows an ingot500 without a metallic material layer. FIG. 8C shows an ingot 500′having a metallic material layer 550 deposited onto a circumferentialsurface of the ingot 500′. The circumferential surface of the ingot 500is in contact with the forging dies 580 (FIG. 8A). The metallic materiallayer 550 is in contact with the forging dies 580′ (FIG. 8C).

FIGS. 8B and 8D illustrate the die-contacting surfaces of the ingots 500and 500′ after draw forging as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8C,respectively. As shown in FIG. 8B, the die-contacting surface 590 of theingot 500 exhibits surface cracking. As shown in FIG. 8D, thedie-contacting surface 590′ of the ingot 500′, which includes metallicmaterial layer 550, does not exhibit surface cracking. The depositedmetallic material layer 550 reduces the incidence of surface cracking ina forged alloy ingot relative to an otherwise identical forged alloyingot lacking such a metallic material layer.

In various embodiments, an ingot having a metallic material layerdeposited onto at least a region of a surface of the ingot may besubjected to one or more upset-and-draw forging operations. For example,in a triple upset-and-draw forging operation, an ingot may be firstupset forged and then draw forged. The upset and draw sequence may berepeated twice more for a total of three sequential upset and drawforging operations. One or more of the die-contacting surfaces of theingot may have a metallic material layer deposited onto thedie-contacting surfaces of the ingot before the ingot is forged.

In various embodiments, an ingot having a metallic material layerdeposited onto at least a region of a surface of the ingot may besubjected to one or more extrusion operations. For example, in anextrusion operation, a cylindrical ingot may be forced through acircular die, thereby decreasing the diameter and increasing the lengthof the ingot. One or more of the die-contacting surfaces of the ingotmay have a metallic material layer deposited onto die-contactingsurfaces of the ingot before the ingot is extruded.

In various embodiments, the methods and processes described herein maybe used to produce a wrought billet from a cast, consolidated, or sprayformed ingot. The forge conversion or extrusion conversion of an ingotto a billet or other worked article may produce a finer grain structurein the article as compared to the former ingot. The methods andprocesses described herein may improve the yield of forged or extrudedproducts (such as, for example, billets) from alloy ingots because themetallic material layer may reduce the incidence of surface cracking ofthe ingot during the forging and/or extrusion operations. For example,it has been observed that a relatively more ductile metallic materiallayer deposited onto at least a region of a surface of a relatively lessductile alloy ingot may more readily tolerate the strain induced byworking dies. It also has been observed that a metallic material layerdeposited onto at least a region of a surface of an alloy ingot may alsomore readily tolerate the temperature differential between the workingdies and the ingot during hot working. In this manner, it has beenobserved that a deposited metallic material layer may exhibit zero orminor surface cracking while surface crack initiation is prevented orreduced in the underlying ingot during working.

In various embodiments, after hot working, at least a portion of adeposited metallic material layer may be removed from the product formedfrom the ingot during the hot working. For example, a grinding, peeling,and/or turning operation may be used to remove at least a portion of themetallic material layer. In various embodiments, at least a portion of adeposited metallic material layer may be removed from a billet formed byworking an ingot by peeling (lathe-turning) and/or grinding the billet.

In various embodiments, ingots having a deposited metallic materiallayer may be hot worked to form products that may be used to fabricatevarious articles. For example, the processes described herein may beused to form nickel base, iron base, nickel-iron base, or cobalt basealloy or superalloy billets. Billets or other products formed from hotworked ingots may be used to fabricate articles including, but notlimited to, turbine components, such as, for example, disks and ringsfor turbine engines and various land based turbines. Other articlesfabricated from ingots processed according to various embodimentsdescribed herein may include, but are not limited to, valves, enginecomponents, shafts, and fasteners.

Embodiments disclosed herein are also directed to an ingot processingsystem and an ingot processing apparatus. The ingot processing systemand apparatus may comprise an ingot positioning apparatus and a weldingapparatus. The ingot positioning apparatus may comprise an ingotrotating apparatus configured to rotate an ingot about a long axis ofthe ingot. The welding apparatus may be configured to deposit a metallicmaterial layer as a weld deposit onto at least a region of a surface ofan ingot.

In various embodiments, the ingot rotating apparatus may comprise alathe configured to rotate an ingot about the long axis of the ingot.The ingot rotating apparatus may rotate the ingot continuously throughone or more full rotations, or the ingot rotating device maydiscontinuously rotate the ingot sequentially through predeterminedindex angles, depending, for example, upon the configuration of thewelding apparatus.

The welding apparatus may comprise at least one welding torch, such as,for example, a wire-fed MIG welding torch. At least one welding torchmay be configured to deposit a layer of a metallic material as a welddeposit onto at least a region of a surface of an ingot. At least onewelding torch may be configured to deposit a metallic material layer asa weld deposit onto at least a region of an end surface of an ingot. Atleast one welding torch may be configured to deposit a metallic materiallayer as a weld deposit onto at least a region of a circumferentialsurface of a cylindrical ingot. At least one welding torch may beconfigured to deposit metallic material onto the top of thecircumferential surface of a cylindrical ingot. In this manner, gravityeffects on a deposited weld bead may be reduced or eliminated.

In various embodiments, at least one welding torch may be a MIG weldingtorch. At least one welding torch may have a wire feed. At least onewelding torch may be positioned a predetermined distance from a surfaceof an ingot. At least one welding torch may be configured with apredetermined wire feed rate, a predetermined wire voltage, and/or apredetermined inert gas purge flow rate. The torch-ingot surfacedistance, wire feed rate, voltage, inert gas purge flow rate, and/orvarious other welding operation parameters may be predetermined so thata metallic material layer is uniformly weld deposited onto the ingot.The identity of various other welding operation parameters may dependupon the particular type of welding operation utilized (e.g., MIG, TIG,etc.). In various embodiments, the heat input (e.g., energy per unitlength) used in the particular welding operation may be maintainedsubstantially uniform over the surface of the ingot onto which themetallic material is weld deposited. In this manner, weld-associatedcracking of the underlying ingot surface may be reduced or eliminated,and the quality of the metallurgical bond between the underlying ingotand the weld deposit may be enhanced. In various embodiments, the heatinput to the ingot during a welding operation may be minimized.

The welding apparatus may comprise one welding torch, a linear array oftwo or more welding torches, or a two- or three-dimensional array ofthree or more welding torches. For example, FIGS. 4A-4D, 5A-5D show alinear array of three welding torches. FIG. 6A shows one welding torch.The number and configuration of the welding torches comprising thewelding apparatus may vary depending upon the particular implementationof the described ingot processing methods, systems, and apparatuses.

In various embodiments, the ingot processing system may comprise acontrol system. The control system may be configured to move andposition the welding apparatus in conjunction with the ingot positioningapparatus to uniformly deposit a metallic material layer onto at least aregion of a surface of the ingot. The control system may control thetorch-surface distance, welding operation parameters, the movement andposition of at least one welding torch relative to an ingot surface,and/or the movement and positioning of an ingot. For example, thecontrol system may be configured to move at least one welding torch in agenerally linear manner parallel to the long axis of an ingot and alonga region of the circumferential surface of the ingot parallel to thelong axis. The control system may also be configured to position atleast one welding torch to deposit metallic material as a weld depositonto opposed end surfaces of an ingot.

In various embodiments, the control system may be configured to controlat least one welding torch to uniformly deposit the metallic materialonto a rough surface of the ingot. For example, in various embodiments,the wire feed rate of a consumable electrode in a MIG welding torch, thevoltage of the wire electrode, the torch-ingot surface distance, and thetorch movement/positioning may be actively controlled to deliver astable arc over a rotating or stationary ingot. In this manner, asubstantially uniform layer of metallic material may be deposited ontothe ingot.

The control system may be configured to automate the deposition of ametallic material layer as a weld deposit onto at least one end of analloy ingot. The control system may be configured to automate thedeposition of a metallic material layer as a weld deposit onto acircumferential surface of a cylindrical alloy ingot.

The ingot processing system may be configured to deposit metallicmaterial as a weld deposit onto a first region of a circumferentialsurface of a rotating cylindrical ingot using at least one stationarywelding torch. In this manner, the ingot processing system may deposit aring-shaped layer of the metallic material around the circumferentialsurface of the cylindrical ingot. The ingot processing system may beconfigured to re-position at least one welding torch adjacent to adeposited ring-shaped layer of the metallic material after a rotatingcylindrical ingot proceeds through at least one rotation. The ingotprocessing system may be configured to deposit the metallic material asa weld deposit onto a second or subsequent region of the circumferentialsurface of the rotating cylindrical ingot using at least onere-positioned stationary welding torch. In this manner, the ingotprocessing system may deposit another ring-shaped layer of the metallicmaterial onto the circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot. Theingot processing system may be configured to repeat the re-positioningof at least one welding torch and the deposition of ring-shaped metallicmaterial layers in an automated manner until the circumferential surfaceof a cylindrical ingot is substantially covered with a metallic materiallayer.

The ingot processing system may be configured to deposit metallicmaterial as a weld deposit onto a first region of a circumferentialsurface of a stationary ingot along a direction parallel to a long axisof the ingot using at least one welding torch configured to moveparallel to the long axis of the ingot and along the first region. Inthis manner, the ingot processing system may deposit a layer of themetallic material onto the first region of the circumferential surfaceof the cylindrical ingot. The ingot processing system may be configuredto re-position the cylindrical ingot to move the first region of thecircumferential surface away from at least one welding torch and to movea second region of the circumferential surface toward at least onewelding torch. For example, the ingot may be rotated through apredetermined index angle by the ingot rotating device.

The ingot processing system may be configured to deposit metallicmaterial as a weld deposit onto a second or subsequent region of thecircumferential surface of the stationary ingot along a directionparallel to a long axis of the ingot using at least one welding torchconfigured to move parallel to the long axis of the ingot and along thesecond region. In this manner, the ingot processing system may deposit alayer of the metallic material onto the second region of thecircumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot. The ingot processingsystem may be configured to repeat the re-positioning of the ingot andthe depositing of metallic material layers along a direction parallel toa long axis of an ingot in an automated manner until the circumferentialsurface of a cylindrical ingot is substantially covered with a metallicmaterial layer.

The ingot processing system may be configured to deposit metallicmaterial as a weld deposit onto a surface of an ingot by rotating theingot about a long axis of the ingot and simultaneously moving thewelding torch parallel to a long axis of the ingot. The metallicmaterial layer may be deposited using at least one moving welding torchunder the control of the control system. In this manner, a deposit ofmetallic material may be deposited in a helical fashion onto thecircumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot as the ingot rotatesabout the long axis and as at least one welding torch moves parallel tothe long axis.

The illustrative and non-limiting examples that follow are intended tofurther describe various non-limiting embodiments without restrictingthe scope of the embodiments. Persons having ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that variations of the Examples are possible within thescope of the invention as defined solely by the claims. All parts andpercents are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

EXAMPLES Example 1

Three-inch cubes of Rene 88™ alloy were used in a hot working operation.The cubes were randomly cut from scrap portions of a Rene 88™ billet.The cubes were heat treated at 2100° F. for 4 hours to increase thegrain size of the alloy cubes to match the workability characteristicsof a Rene 88™ ingot. One face surface of each cube was conditioned bygrinding on a disk grinder followed by sanding with a belt sander. ATechAlloy 606™ alloy layer was deposited as a weld deposit onto theconditioned face surface of each cube using MIG welding (0.045 inchdiameter TechAlloy 606 wire, 220 inch-per-minute, 18V wire voltage, 50cubic feet per minute argon purge). The weld deposited TechAlloy 606™alloy layer was allowed to fully solidify and cool to room temperature.FIG. 9 is a photograph of two 3-inch cubes of Rene 88™ alloy each havingTechAlloy 606™ alloy layers weld deposited onto the top surfaces asoriented in the photograph.

A Rene 88™ alloy cube having a TechAlloy 606™ alloy layer was heated to2000° F. over a one-hour period and press forged at temperature. Theface surface having the TechAlloy 606™ alloy layer was placed in contactwith the bottom die and the opposite face surface, which lacked aTechAlloy 606™ alloy layer, was placed in contact with the upper die.The 3-inch cube was press forged to a 1-inch pancake using anapproximately 1-inch-per-second strain rate.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are photographs of opposing sides of a 1-inch pancakepressed forged from a 3-inch cube. FIG. 10A shows the non-layered sidesurface of the pancake, and FIG. 10B shows the side surface having theTechAlloy 606™ alloy layer. The crack sensitivity of the Rene 88™ alloyis visible on the forged, non-layered surface shown in FIG. 10A. Surfacecracking is clearly visible on the surface lacking a TechAlloy 606™alloy layer as shown in FIG. 10A. As shown in FIG. 10B, the TechAlloy606™ alloy layer substantially reduced the incidence of surface crackingof the alloy during the forging.

FIG. 11 is a photograph of a sectioned 1-inch pancake pressed forgedfrom a 3-inch alloy cube as described above. The interface between theTechAlloy 606™ alloy layer and the underlying forged Rene 88™ was imagedusing optical microscopy at a mid-radius location (labeled “11A” in FIG.11), which corresponded to the cross-section of the welded surface ofthe pancake (the top surface as oriented in the photograph). FIG. 11A isa micrograph taken at the mid-radius location as indicated in FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 11A, a strong and uniform metallurgical bond was formedbetween the TechAlloy 606™ alloy layer and the underlying Rene 88™ Themetallurgical bond withstood the press forging and no de-lamination orde-bonding was observed. The exposed surface of the TechAlloy 606™ alloylayer and the interface between the TechAlloy 606™ alloy layer and theunderlying forged Rene 88™ are both substantially free of cracks.Removal of the TechAlloy 606™ alloy layer (e.g., by grinding) wouldreveal the underlying forged Rene 88™ substantially free of surfacecracks.

The present disclosure has been written with reference to variousexemplary, illustrative, and non-limiting embodiments. However, it willbe recognized by persons having ordinary skill in the art that varioussubstitutions, modifications, or combinations of any of the disclosedembodiments (or portions thereof) may be made without departing from thescope of the invention as defined solely by the claims. Thus, it iscontemplated and understood that the present disclosure embracesadditional embodiments not expressly set forth herein. Such embodimentsmay be obtained, for example, by combining, modifying, or reorganizingany of the disclosed steps, ingredients, constituents, components,elements, features, aspects, characteristics, limitations, and the like,of the embodiments described herein. Thus, this disclosure is notlimited by the description of the various exemplary, illustrative, andnon-limiting embodiments, but rather solely by the claims. In thismanner, Applicants reserve the right to amend the claims duringprosecution to add features as variously described herein.

1. An ingot processing method comprising: depositing a metallic materiallayer onto at least a region of a surface of an alloy ingot, wherein themetallic material is more ductile than the alloy, and wherein themetallic material layer reduces an incidence of surface cracking of thealloy ingot during hot working.
 2. The ingot processing method of claim1, further comprising grinding or peeling the surface of the alloy ingotbefore depositing the metallic layer.
 3. The ingot processing method ofclaim 1, further comprising: hot working the alloy ingot, wherein thehot working comprises applying force onto the metallic material layer,and wherein the force deforms the alloy ingot.
 4. The ingot processingmethod of claim 3, further comprising removing at least a portion of themetallic material layer from the alloy ingot after hot working the alloyingot.
 5. The ingot processing method of claim 1, wherein the alloyingot comprises a material selected from the group consisting of anickel base alloy, an iron base alloy, a nickel-iron base alloy, and acobalt base alloy.
 6. The ingot processing method of claim 1, whereinthe alloy ingot comprises an alloy selected from the group consisting ofAlloy 720, Rene 88™, and Waspaloy®.
 7. The ingot processing method ofclaim 1, wherein the alloy ingot and the metallic material layercomprise the same base metal, the base metal selected from the groupconsisting of nickel, iron, and cobalt.
 8. The ingot processing methodof claim 1, wherein the alloy ingot comprises a nickel base superalloyand the metallic material layer comprises Techalloy 606™.
 9. The ingotprocessing method of claim 1, wherein depositing the metallic materiallayer comprises depositing the metallic material layer as a weld depositonto at least a region of a surface of the alloy ingot.
 10. The ingotprocessing method of claim 9, wherein depositing the metallic materiallayer as a weld deposit comprises a welding operation selected from thegroup consisting of metal inert gas (MIG) welding, tungsten inert gas(TIG) welding, and plasma welding.
 11. The ingot processing method ofclaim 9, wherein depositing the metallic material layer as a welddeposit onto at least a region of a surface of the alloy ingot comprisesdepositing the metallic material as a weld deposit onto at least one endof the alloy ingot.
 12. The ingot processing method of claim 9, wherein:the alloy ingot is a cylindrical ingot; and depositing the metallicmaterial layer as a weld deposit onto at least a region of a surface ofthe alloy ingot comprises: rotating the cylindrical ingot; anddepositing the metallic material as a weld deposit onto a first regionof a circumferential surface of the rotating cylindrical ingot using atleast one stationary welding torch, thereby depositing a ring-shapedlayer of the metallic material onto the circumferential surface of thecylindrical ingot.
 13. The ingot processing method of claim 12, furthercomprising: re-positioning at least one welding torch adjacent to adeposited ring-shaped layer of the metallic material after the rotatingcylindrical ingot proceeds through at least one rotation; and depositingmetallic material as a weld deposit onto a second region of thecircumferential surface of the rotating cylindrical ingot using at leastone re-positioned stationary welding torch.
 14. The ingot processingmethod of claim 13, further comprising repeating the re-positioning stepand the depositing step until the circumferential surface of thecylindrical ingot is substantially covered with the metallic material.15. The ingot processing method of claim 9, wherein: the alloy ingot isa cylindrical ingot; and depositing the metallic material layer as aweld deposit onto at least a region of a surface of the alloy ingotcomprises: moving at least one welding torch along a first region of acircumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot parallel to a long axisof the ingot, while holding the cylindrical ingot stationary, therebydepositing a layer of the metallic material as a weld deposit onto thefirst region of the circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot;re-positioning the cylindrical ingot to move the first region of thecircumferential surface away from at least one welding torch and to movea second region of the circumferential surface toward at least onewelding torch; and moving at least one welding torch along the secondregion of the circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot parallelto the long axis of the ingot, while holding the cylindrical ingotstationary, thereby depositing a layer of the metallic material as aweld deposit onto the second region of the circumferential surface ofthe cylindrical ingot.
 16. The ingot processing method of claim 15,further comprising repeating the re-positioning step and the moving stepuntil the circumferential surface of the ingot is substantially coveredwith the metallic material.
 17. The ingot processing method of claim 3,wherein hot working the alloy ingot comprises at least one of a forgingoperation and an extrusion operation.
 18. The ingot processing method ofclaim 3, wherein hot working the alloy ingot comprises an upset-and-drawforging operation.
 19. The ingot processing method of claim 3, whereinthe process improves the yield of forged nickel-base superalloy productsformed from nickel-base superalloy ingots.
 20. The ingot processingmethod of claim 3, wherein the process produces a wrought nickel-basesuperalloy billet from a cast nickel-base superalloy ingot.
 21. Theingot processing method of claim 3, further comprising providing anickel-base superalloy ingot using a VIM-VAR operation or a VIM-ESR-VARoperation.
 22. The ingot processing method of claim 3, furthercomprising fabricating an article from the hot worked ingot, the articleselected from the group consisting of jet engine components and landbased turbine components.
 23. An ingot processed by the ingot processingmethod of claim
 1. 24. A process for hot working an alloy ingotcomprising: applying force to an alloy ingot to deform the alloy ingot,wherein the ingot includes a metallic material layer deposited onto atleast one region of a surface of the alloy ingot, wherein the metallicmaterial is more ductile than the alloy, and wherein the force isapplied onto the metallic material layer.
 25. The process of claim 24,further comprising removing at least a portion of the metallic materiallayer from the alloy ingot after the alloy ingot is deformed.
 26. Theprocess of claim 24, wherein the alloy ingot comprises a materialselected from the group consisting of a nickel base alloy, an iron basealloy, a nickel-iron base alloy, a cobalt base alloy.
 27. The process ofclaim 24, wherein the alloy ingot comprises an alloy selected from thegroup consisting of Alloy 720, Rene 88™, and Waspaloya
 28. The processof claim 24, wherein the alloy ingot and the metallic material layercomprise the same base metal, the base metal selected from the groupconsisting of nickel, iron, and cobalt.
 29. The process of claim 24,wherein the metallic material layer comprises a weld deposit on at leasta region of a circumferential surface of a cylindrical ingot.
 30. Theprocess of claim 24, wherein the metallic material layer comprises aweld deposit on at least a region of an end surface of an ingot.
 31. Theprocess of claim 24, wherein the alloy ingot comprises a nickel basesuperalloy and the metallic material layer comprises Techalloy 606™. 32.The process of claim 24, wherein applying force to the alloy ingotcomprises at least one of a forging operation and an extrusionoperation.
 33. The process of claim 24, wherein applying force to thealloy ingot comprises an upset-and-draw forging operation.
 34. Theprocess of claim 24, wherein the process improves the yield of forgednickel-base superalloy products formed from nickel-base superalloyingots.
 35. The process of claim 24-23, wherein the process produces awrought nickel-base superalloy billet from a cast nickel-base superalloyingot.
 36. The process of claim 24, further comprising fabricating anarticle from the hot worked ingot, the article selected from the groupconsisting of jet engine components and land based turbine components.37. A hot worked article formed from an alloy ingot by the process ofclaim
 24. 38. An ingot processing system comprising: an ingot rotatingapparatus configured to rotate a cylindrical ingot about a long axis ofthe ingot; and a welding apparatus configured to deposit a metallicmaterial layer as a weld deposit onto at least a region of acircumferential surface of a cylindrical ingot.
 39. The ingot processingsystem of claim 38, wherein the ingot rotating apparatus comprises alathe configured to rotate the ingot about the long axis of the ingot.40. The ingot processing system of claim 38, wherein the weldingapparatus comprises at least one MIG welding torch configured to depositthe metallic material layer as a weld deposit onto at least a region ofthe circumferential surface of the ingot.
 41. The ingot processingsystem of claim 40, wherein the system is configured to move at leastone welding torch in a direction parallel to the long axis of the ingotand along a region of the circumferential surface of the ingot.
 42. Theingot processing system of claim 40, wherein the system is configured tocontrol at least one welding torch to deposit the metallic material as aweld deposit onto at least one end of the alloy ingot.
 43. The ingotprocessing system of claim 40, wherein the system is configured to:deposit the metallic material as a weld deposit onto a first region ofthe circumferential surface of a rotating cylindrical ingot using atleast one stationary welding torch, thereby depositing a ring-shapedlayer of the metallic material onto the circumferential surface of thecylindrical ingot; re-position at least one welding torch adjacent to adeposited ring-shaped layer of the metallic material after the rotatingcylindrical ingot proceeds through at least one rotation; deposit themetallic material as a weld deposit onto a second region of thecircumferential surface of the rotating cylindrical ingot using at leastone re-positioned stationary welding torch, thereby depositing aring-shaped layer of the metallic material onto the circumferentialsurface of the cylindrical ingot; and repeat the re-positioning anddepositing until the circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot issubstantially covered with the metallic material.
 44. The ingotprocessing system of claim 40, wherein the system is configured to:deposit the metallic material as a weld deposit onto a first region of acircumferential surface of a stationary ingot using at least one weldingtorch configured to move parallel to the long axis of the ingot andalong the first region, thereby depositing a layer of the metallicmaterial onto the first region of the circumferential surface of thecylindrical ingot; re-position the cylindrical ingot to move the firstregion of the circumferential surface away from at least one weldingtorch and to move a second region of the circumferential surface towardat least one welding torch; deposit the metallic material as a welddeposit onto the second region of the circumferential surface of thestationary ingot using at least one welding torch configured to moveparallel to the long axis of the ingot and along the second region,thereby depositing a layer of the metallic material onto the secondregion of the circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot; andrepeat the re-positioning and depositing until the circumferentialsurface of the ingot is substantially covered with the metallicmaterial.